Giron record

Published: September 5, 2013;Last modified: September 5, 2013 05:00AM

THE FOCUS of Pueblo’s Senate District 3 recall against state Sen. Angela Giron is her voting record — and not just her support for gun-control legislation that triggered the election in the first place.

The Pueblo Democrat’s votes for a package of gun-control bills prompted advocates for the Second Amendment right to bear arms to petition for her recall. Certainly, people of good will can and often do differ on gun control versus the Second Amendment.

Beyond that, let’s take a dispassionate look at Sen. Giron’s record on other issues and their impact on Southern Colorado and other rural areas of the state.

We have commended Sen. Giron — and repeat it here — for playing a crucial role in resurrecting legislation to reopen Fort Lyon as a new residential treatment and service center for veterans and the homeless in need of help. The Fort Lyon bill was a major achievement for the Lower Arkansas Valley economy and we don’t stint in our praise for all who helped in the cause.

We also supported her bill, which has become law, to allow Colorado high school graduates who are not U.S. citizens to attend state colleges and universities on in-state tuition. It will open more college opportunities to students who were brought here illegally by their parents through no fault of their own.

Likewise, we appreciate Sen. Giron’s work to fund construction projects at Colorado State University-Pueblo and other campuses in the region.

Now, we turn to worrisome Giron votes that tend to ally her with Denver metro urbanites against the interests of rural Colorado.

She co-sponsored Senate Bill 252, which imposes urban-backed renewable energy requirements on rural electric association customers that are sure to inflate their utility bills. This is a direct hit on rural constituents at the behest of metrocentric environmentalists who couldn’t care less about the rural cost.

Sen. Giron displayed a similarly myopic attitude when she cast the deciding committee vote to kill a bill by Rep. Clarice Navarro, R-Pueblo, and Sen. Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City, that would have classified a “waste to energy” process as renewable energy. By killing the bill, Sen. Giron dashed hopes of bringing a $40 million Creative Energy Systems plant and 50 jobs to La Junta. What prompted her to oppose rural economic development in this way?

Sen. Giron also cast a key vote for House Bill 1248, which puts a target squarely on Southern Colorado water by exempting the Colorado River and Rio Grande basins from out-of-basin transfers in new water-leasing pilot projects. No such ban for transfers out of the Arkansas Basin, of course, even though it is the most overappropriated river in Colorado. That was a terrible vote!

In more general terms, Sen. Giron voted for civil unions for same-sex couples and against urging Congress to allow religious exemptions from government-mandated birth control coverage.

She supported a school finance bill that is touted as education reform, yet won’t take effect unless voters approve a $950 million increase in the state income tax this November. It’s shortsighted to think throwing more money on top of the $5.5 billion already spent on school finance will solve our lingering education woes.

Last but not least, Sen. Giron was the prime Senate sponsor of HB1303, a massive recodification of Colorado election law that exposes the state to potential voter fraud.

HB1303 allows for same-day (including Election Day) registration for would-be voters 18 or older who say they have been Colorado residents for at least 22 days and plan to vote in a particular city, county or district where they may not live currently but intend to make their residence.

Shocked by this blunt description? Well, the new law allows it — and who’s to question or disprove another’s intention about where to vote? It’s ironic that this Giron-sponsored law has its very first application in her own recall election.

All things considered, Sen. Giron frequently has shown poor judgment and a metrocentric bent during her term in the state Senate.

The editorials appearing on the editorial page are the opinions of The Pueblo Chieftain as decided by the newspaper's editorial board. Members of the board are Robert H. Rawlings, publisher and editor; Jane Rawlings, assistant publisher; Jeff Holmquist, editorial page editor; and Tom McAvoy, editorial research director.